Tying a knot in an elongated length of material requires some skill especially in positioning the knot and is often bothersome and time consuming in that the knot has to be continually untied and retied to get the knot positioned correctly along the length of the material. Further, when the knot is tied many times, the material becomes worn and wrinkled at the knot position especially when the material is fabricated from certain materials such as silk.
Further, the correct positioning of the knot is often hard to determine because the lengths of the different ends must be different before tying the knot in order to anticipate what the lengths are going to be after the knot has been tied. The free ends of the material must be arranged rather precisely, especially if the material has a non-repetitive or intricate pattern, before tying the knot so that the knot will not interrupt the pattern in an unpleasing manner and be correctly located such that the lengths are appropriate.
Knot covers and simulators for neckties are well known in the art. Knot covers are primarily employed for purposes of appearance. The cover can hide soiled or wrinkled cloth or a poorly made knot. The user is still subjected to the laborious and time consuming task of first tying a knot. Simulators generally have open ends at the top through which the ends of the necktie are received to be pulled together at a common opening at the bottom to give the appearance of a knot. Advantageously, the need to tie a knot is eliminated. However, since a standard length tie includes material lessen to be used in the making of the knot, the knot simulator yields an unsightly tie of excessive length.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a knot cover that permits the wearer to correctly position the elongated lengths of material into the separate lengths desired before attaching the knot cover.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a device which will eliminate the need to tie a knot yet will yield a tie of proper length.
The prior art has also provided various types of clip means to hold the elongated lengths of material. The clips operate to hold the panels of the neck tie to simulate a tied appearance. As with all clip apparatus for neck ties, the clips are often seen and detract from the appearance of the wearer in that the wearer is wearing a ready-made tie and not the standard four-in-hand necktie which is usually more pleasing to the viewer. The knot simulators that include the clips had the advantage over the other prior art in that it firmly held the elongated pieces of material and positioned the knot such that the knot did not slip.
It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to provide a knot simulator and cover which includes a retaining means to hold the knot simulator into place along the length of the material.